i’m in the process of building 2 4x8 tables to make an L.i finished one of the tables, but it has bin sitting upside down on sawhorses for the good part of a month, cause my dad is still recovering from a big list of problems. so i was thinking about mounting the tables on brackets, but i’m not shure if this is posible because they are 4 feet wide. plus the brackets would be screwed into the studs themself cause were not putting up drywall in our basement.
is this possible?[%-)]
Yes it is possible. What you would need to do is make some 1x4" triangles. You can use the wall studs for the back vertical piece. The horizontal pieces should be at the height you want your railroad and the angled piece should start about a foot off the ground and come to about a foot from the front edge. I’d put them on 32" centers which is every second stud. The only problem is reaching in that far but you will have that no matter how you support them against a wall.
ndbprr is very right about the reach problem. The general rule is not to have any reach be more than 2 feet. I stretch that to 2 and a half, because my layout is low to avoid an angled ceiling, but even so I have trouble working in the center. Fixing a derailment is no problem, but doing trackwork and scenery right in the middle is an effort.
i could split the tables up in to 4 2x8 sections, but i don’t know if my dad will let me, and if i had the room for the walkaround, and the money to get throttles, and othe equipment. plus, i’d have to take apart the table that’s already built, i’ll have to talk to my dad
the origanal room for my trains looked like this
_
_l
passed the tips of those walls there are no studs or walls, it’s a walk way
if i clear out another room it would look like this.
_
l
l - the middle section is only a foot or so long
…l
but my dad is really big on " your just a kid you can’t build some big elabarent railroad.
so there is a good chance this may never happen[:(] would be awesome though
prr67,
If the basement isn’t going to be finished, you can mount one end of the 4x8’ plywood to the wall. Use a 2x4 screwed to the wall horizontally. One edge of the plywood is attached to the top of the ledger. The other two corners can be supported by vertical legs, but I think you would need additional support under the plywood and bracing for the legs. 8’ is a long span, even for thick (1") plywood. Some 2x4’s in a simple perimeter frame should be sufficient for 3/4" and up thicknesses. A few cross pieces every 24" will give support to thinner plywood.
When my Dad built our first Lionel layout, he used 1/2 plywood and attached three lengths of 2x4’s under the plywood with the wide 4" side up against the plywood. Then he attached 2x4 legs with hinges to the 2x4’s mounted under the plywood. Then the whole layout was attached to the wall with more hinges. We didn’t have any scenery on it so it could be folded up against the wall and the legs would fold up against the bottom of the plywood. It was plenty strong for the trains and you could climb on it with no trouble where the legs were attached. It supported trains for 10 years and race cars for 2 more years without warping.
A suggestion to ease the reach problem, if you have enough room. Mount a 4’ end somewhere in the middle of the wall so that the plywood sticks out 8’. Then butt the other 4x8 up against the first one in an “L” configuration. The second piece can be either directly on the end of the first 4x8, making for a 12’ distance from the wall, or on an 8’ side to make the layout 8’ from the wall and 12’ long. The second piece would then be 4’ from the wall and all of the layout will be within a 2’ reach.
I applaud your efforts to continue working on the layout while your Dad deals with his other problems. I am sure he will be proud of your efforts and will want to join you whenever he can.
Darrell, quiet…for now
thanks for all the help everyone. i’m going to talk to my dad about changing to benckwork tommorow cause he’s asleep, plus he is always in a good mood when he comes home from work because this is his first week back to work since april or may. but how do you cut the 4x8 sheets of foam board into 2x8 sheets.
Thanks
Andrew
oh just thought of somthing else, do you guys think the lumber i already have for making the two tables with legs be enough to make the 2x8 version on brackets?
Why don’t you print out the responses to your question to show him you are serious about this and getting good advice before proceding?
finanlly! the forums are back up. anyway got an update. dad said yes to the whole thing.
he said on one condition though. if i got every piece of wood ready and meashured. so once all of the benchwork is meashured he wil go down and cut them all, so i can start building. he wont let me use the saw cause it was my great grand father’s, and he was a tinkerer. he had just about every tool known to man. well he did various things to this saw, including taking out every single saftey mecanism in it. he did it to all of his tools. like my dremal i got from him, he wired it to a sewing machine pedal so it would only run when u pressed down on it.
any ideas on the foam board Yet?
Thanks, keep you guys updated
Andrew
What do you need to know about the foam board?
how to cut it in half,
how do you attatch the tables to the brackets?
You can cut foam board with almost any hand saw (I use a hack-saw blade on a handle). Some guys even cut it with a serrated knife. But either way, it makes a mess. You’ll need a vacuum cleaner handy.
Quote: how do you attatch the tables to the brackets?
I’m not sure what you mean, but I will work off of what’s been in the thread so far.
In my original post, I suggested installing a 2x4 horizontally on the studs. Use nails or deck screws to attach. Then one edge of your 4x8’ board can rest on the 2x4. You can use nails, drywall screws or deck screws to attach the 4x8’ to the 2x4". Measure everything carefully. Remember, the measurement to the top of the 2x4 is also the measurement to the BOTTOM of the plywood!
I would try to keep all my cuts square. Make your joints overlap rather than meeting end-to-end. Trying to deal with angles makes it difficult to get the correct lengths unless you are experienced with working with angled cuts.
Hope this helps.
Darrell, being quiet…for now
I use an old set of steak knives to cut foam. It doesn’t take long to dull a blade cutting foam, though. I bought an inexpensive knife sharpener from Wal-Mart. It resembles a set of brass knuckles with a notch in one end. The handle doubles as a safety shield for your fingers and a steady base to set on a counter/work bench to steady the sharpener.
I also use a cheap utility knife (the kind with the scored snap-off blades). You can extend the blade out to about 2 1/2 to 3 inches so you can make the cut in one pass. Wear some leather work gloves when cutting the foam. You’ll be glad you did. While they may not completely protect you from a cut, it they can cut the severity down.
AND your father should know better than to use tools that have the safety mechanisms removed. They were put there for a reason.
he only uses them on certain ocasions when he has to use them
Place a straightedge along the path you choose to bisect the foam board. Then, holding that straightedge firmly in place, sribe along its edge with an extended X-Axcto blade, or hobby blade, or carpet cutter. Scribe heavily the second time you swipe the blade along the edge. Then, place the foam on a table edge, scored side up, but just above the table edge, and give a gentle downward pu***o snap the foam in two. Maybe ask for a hand so that you don’t tear the board…have another person help at the other end of the board while you both snap it in two.
That’ll work! Just like cutting glass. Except foam is easier to sand the edge smooth! LOL
Darrell, glassily quiet…for now